On the north wall are the motto, Fiel Pero Desdichado (‘Faithful but Unfortunate’) – a reference to the loyalty of the 1st Duke’s father to the Royalist cause after the execution of Charles 1 in 1649. Four terracotta plaques on the walls represent rivers that played a part in Marlborough’s campaigns during the War of the Spanish Succession (1702-13): the Danube, the Rhine (with the sirens of the Lorelei), the Meuse and the Moselle. The terracotta medallions at the corners represent the 1st Duke; his wife Sarah; Queen Anne; and Prince Eugene of Savoy, Marlborough’s most steadfast Continental ally, who played an important part in the victories of Blenheim (1704), Ramilles (1706), Oudenarde (1708) and Malplaquet (1709). The low-relief frieze around the ceiling evokes the Marlborough wars. One panel shows the defence of the village of Blenheim, the climactic moment of the 1st Duke’s most famous victory.  *

*From the National Trust guide book